The Broncos suffer a big blow to their offense.
According to reports, the Denver Broncos have placed second-year running back RJ Harvey on short-term injured reserve, sidelining him for at least the next four games. Harvey suffered a knee injury during practice this week and will now be eligible to come off the injured reserve for the Broncos’ home game vs. the Miami Dolphins on December 6th.
To replace his spot on the Broncos’ 53-man roster, the team is reportedly signing veteran safety Taylor Rapp
to the active roster, and he will start in place of the injured Talanoa Hufanga.
Harvey, who had a 50+ yard touchdown this past Sunday vs. the Arizona Cardinals on a screen play, has been the Broncos’ most consistent offensive playmaker. Now, the Broncos will be down another running back as they head into the second half of their schedule.
Rookie Jonah Coleman is expected to be the Broncos’ lead back this Sunday, with veteran JK Dobbins serving as the backup, and Cody Schrader being elevated from the practice squad to be the Broncos RB3. With Harvey and Tyler Badie on the short-term IR and JK Dobbins struggling, the Broncos could pursue another back on the trade market. As we talked about this morning, the Colts made star running back Jonathan Taylor available on the trade market, and the Broncos were among the teams listed as interested.
Could the Harvey injury make them go all-in and acquire Taylor?
Other backs like Saquon Barkley, Tony Pollard, and maybe even Breece Hall are rumored to be backs on the trade block as we come closer to the NFL trade deadline, so we will have to see if the Broncos make a move.
Right now, they have a currently unproven and inexperienced (Just 19 carries on the season) rookie back in Jonah Coleman and a struggling veteran JK Dobbins, as their rushers. They are just one injury away from Cody Schrader, a practice squad player, seeing significant snaps on offense. I believe they need to add some more depth to their running back room moving forward as we head into the colder months of the season.
At the end of the day, this is a major blow to the Broncos’ offense. Harvey has been one of their more consistent and explosive playmakers this season, and now he will be sidelined for at least the next 5 weeks (4 games + bye week). We will have to see if this injury forces the Broncos into making a move for another running back in the coming days.
